School of Prayer at Summons to Sacrifice

Last weekend at WEC, I had the pleasure to meet Angie Clark, Kids Prayer Coordinator for World Network of Prayer (WNOP). You'll remember that Ninetyandnine interviewed her a month ago. (See "This Generation is Full of World Shapers.") Angie is forging a new trail and establishing children's prayer ministries.

At WEC, Angie related some of the results of the School of Prayer session held at WNOP's 2006 Summons to Sacrifice. I was amazed to hear her accounts of kids hearing the voice of God and ministering to one another and adults.

You simply must hear the reports. Pictures and details have been posted on the WNOP site: http://www.wnop.org/summons/summons_06-report.asp.

Mailbag: Great Book Shared... With Duct Tape

It's always special when a reader writes in with their duct tape discoveries. This week Michelle sent a story that highlights some of my very favorite things: duct tape, books, and people overcoming big odds. Here is Michelle's report:

Hello Lee Ann,

Thought of you today! I just finished reading a VERY powerful book entitled Joel. It is an autobiography of a guy named Joel Sonnenberg who was burned nearly to death when he was 22 months old. It is an incredible testimony of God's AMAZING grace and miraculous healing power.

Anyway, toward the end of the book, Joel makes quite a few references to uses of duct tape. One, he has no hands or fingers (burned off), so playing tennis, he duct taped the racquet to his arm, greatly improving his game! Another... holding his college graduation cap to his bald and disfigured head on graduation day (he bent over and demonstrated the amazing ability of the duct tape for everyone at the graduation!). There were a couple others that I don't remember offhand.

But the book itself is an incredibly powerful read if you haven't read it already. Wow..... he is a living miracle!

Have a nice day!
Michelle

Contemporary Novels and Religion, Plus Harper Lee

In the middle of all my duct tape revel (with more to come!), I want to shift into a literary gear.

God in Fiction
Maybe contemporary novels can’t adequately deal with God because we live in a society that is mixed on the issue. What I mean is this: just as there is an obvious fervor for religion, there is also the opposing side which doesn’t want to touch the religion issue. How would it be possible for a novel to perfectly capture mankind’s take on religion right now when there is such disparity? A conflicted portrayal of Christian themes in fiction simply is an accurate reflection of the conflicted American psyche which can’t reconcile a timeless God to our twenty-first century secular culture.

In a wonderful blog post on the subject, British writer Theo Hobson points to the novel’s failure to cover contemporary religion as an indicator of the contemporary novel’s limitations. He essentially feels that we’ve outgrown the novel.

What gets even more interesting is that he goes on to argue that today’s novels are admittedly secular, which explains why they can’t deal adequately with the God topic:

“The novel has become a very limited thing, painfully haunted by its old claim to total vision. It cannot address one of the most important issues of our time, the clash between religion and secularism, for it knows itself to be an expression of the latter.”

What a call for quality Christian fiction!

Oprah Truly Is a World Mover
We couldn’t have a literary moment without a spot on Southern Lit. The Washington Post announced Monday that O magazine will publish a Harper Lee letter in July’s summer reading issue. This is huge because as I’ve mentioned before, the semi-reclusive (yet wildly famous) Lee has published little more than her famous To Kill a Mockingbird tour de force. Whatever the letter contains will be sure to capture much attention. I enjoyed this preview shared in the article:

“Now, 75 years later in an abundant society where people have laptops, cell phones, iPods, and minds like empty rooms, I still plod along with books."
–Harper Lee

Beautiful.

More Duct Tape Testimonials!

Duct Tape Fashion
The ever-talented Shirley McDonald pointed out a local duct tape story from right here in our area that somehow slipped by my watchful eye. Turns out a Baton Rouge gal created and sported a duct tape dress to prom. I've seen these before, but I share this with even more pride since it comes from my home folks.

Source: The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)























Duct Tape Humor
My good buddy Candi in NC shared a comic she knew I would enjoy (though God forbid that rule should ever be imposed on me!)

Source: closetohome.com, copyright John McPherson, Universal Press Syndicate



















Once and Again
A certain incident involving me and Wanda Honda recently came up in blog comments. To comply with full discolsure, I point you to the detailed account here:

http://www.ninetyandnine.com/fblog/fblog.html

Word Evangelism Center and... Duct Tape!

I’m Back, Baby!
I have missed you, dear reader! (And I’d like to think the feeling is mutual.) Between a wild work week and some weekend traveling, it’s been too long since I last shared my adventures, disasters, and everything in between. But, here we are, and I’ve got some fun ideas up my sleeve for the next few weeks.

New Year’s Resolution Resolved!
In January, optimist that I am, I ventured the rare hope that 2006 might provide an opportunity to tour World Evangelism Center (WEC). Here are my exact words from Jan. 03, 2006:

11. I will finally get to tour a little place I like to call the Vatican, otherwise known as the UPCI headquarters. I will be so inspired by my visit that I base my next College & Career Sunday School lesson on the visit using the working title “The Pride of St. Louis” and a model of headquarters which I will create out of popsicle sticks and… duct tape.

No model as of yet, but this weekend I got the chance to take that tour! Who’d have thought?

Impressions from the Tour of WEC
- WEC is a much huger operation than I’d have ever guessed. The sheer number of folks and buzz of work, energy, and ideas was exciting. It’s no garage-venture.

- The printing press is a major part of WEC. I just assumed Word Aflame Press contracted all print and assembly work. Au contraire! I got to tour the in-house print shop—no hard hat needed. It was really surprising how large the facility was and how much work goes through. Never underestimate the power of your Sunday School dollars at work.

- There are tons of departments that fall under the broad term “headquarters.” To say someone works at headquarters could mean a lot of different things. After traipsing through all three floors and seeing a big, broad range of departments, I’m convinced there’s an effort to embrace innovative directions beyond the standard (though much-needed) staple of home missions, foreign missions, and Sunday School.

Bottom line: if you’re even in the St. Louis area, you owe it to yourself to tour WEC.

Weekend Duct Tape Sightings!
1. My new friend Caleb had a common fishing tackle problem—damaged rod tip on his trusty fishing pole. Mom and Dad to the rescue + duct tape = fishing rod back in action with the rod tip securely taped back on the pole.

2. Virginia at WEC was the victim of an inventive practical joke. Apparently she returned to her desk chair to find it had been decorated and personalized, i.e. someone had duct taped a flag to the back. Good sport that she is, Virginia has kept the new look, which adds a lot of character to the office décor. My kingdom for a camera!